Teach Transgressors Thy Ways
by Meneldur
Summary: What is there to love of Punishment and Pain? After joining Elua, Kushiel searches for those who understand. Pre-books, rated M for mention of the stuff that happens around Kushiel.


Author's Note: Nothing much to say. I attempted to keep the 'archaic' language I use in my pre-trilogy fics. The reason for doing this is obvious. Yes, I haven't yet done the meeting of Kushiel with Elua, but the inspiration for this came upon me first. I added Ys because I felt it fit quite well. I mostly used elements from the legend, of course, though I attempted to incorporate the few details mentioned about it in the books. Bretagne is of course the old French name for Brittany, which is where Kusheth is, and Breizh is Breton for it. The title comes (as noted) from Psalms 51:13. This is for the glory of my House and cousins, with thanks to the dearest of them, Mariana, who is also my adviser and beta.

Dedicated to my dearest cousin, the Star of the Sea, Her Majesty Mariana Shahrizai.

**'Teach**** Transgressors**** Thy**** Ways'**  
>Being <span>a<span> Chronicle of the Coming of Kushiel to Terre d'Ange, and the Rise of House Shahrizai

And when Elua and his companion had come to the land that would be Terre d'Ange in the future, they were welcomed by all. Yet they did not settle in any one place at first, but rather emulated the example of Elua. So they wandered through the land, sharing their knowledge and skills of healing husbandry, war, and so forth. But everywhere they went, they brought love; for such was the precept that Elua had taught him, for which they followed him.

And alone of all the Companions, Kushiel was at that time despondent. For he tried to educate others in his trifold path; but people would flee before him for fear of punishment, and those who did not found no love in his pitiless features. And so he came despairing to Elua, asking of him his wisdom, how to make the people of the land accept his love, harsh as it was.

And Elua smiled gravely, and told him that he could not answer; for the ability to find love was given to each of us, he said, and it lay upon Kushiel himself to find the love in his punishment. So Kushiel wandered among the provinces of Gaullia, and saw the Companions in their work; yet nowhere could he find those who would accept his punishments with love. And at last he came to the northern peninsula that was called by the inhabitants Breizh, and by others Bretagne.

And as he breathed the sea air, he felt he had come to a place where he might be happy; for the land was soft inside, rich and fertile, but the edges were rough and hard, even as he was. And he traveled ever to the north and west, seeking the sea, until at last he came to Kerne, across which lay the Isle of Ys. And when he came upon the Isle, many remarked over him; for he was as beautiful as any angel, if stern, and his garments were rich in crimson, bronze and black.

Now, the Lady of Ys was ruler over that Isle and city, fair and beautiful, with hair as black as the sky at night and eyes of a deep blue, as the sea at eve when it is calm. And the Lady was feared by many; for she would accept lovers from the mainland often. But if they tired of the games and punishments she used in the bedroom, or did not satisfy her, she would send them away with only a rickety boat, even as her cormorants harried them, so that many never reached shore. And when she heard of this beautiful stranger, she had him summoned to her; and when she saw him, she was enflamed with desire, and lusted after him. For it seemed to her that his pale skin, bronze eyes and sable hair were the perfect match for her; and she thought that he might even be sturdy enough to survive all her pleasures.

That night, she hosted a feast in his honor; and though he laughed and drank and made merry with her, he would not accompany her to her bedchamber, and she slept alone that night.

So it went for thirty-nine days. Every night, she would attempt to seduce him, by whatever methods possible. But always he would refuse, saying it was not time yet, and that pleasure was made better by patience, so that she went to bed alone every night. And though he spent the evenings with her, through the day he wandered the city, and warned every good and innocent man and woman to leave, before the city and Isle would be called to account for their sins.

At last, on the thirty-ninth eve, he relented. But as they approached her bed, he offered her a wager: should he manage to last the night and satisfy her as she wished, the next night, she would offer herself to him. With a laugh and kiss, she accepted; for she did not expect him to win, and even if he did, it did not seem so harsh to her, to see what this powerful man could inflict on her. And that night, Kushiel toiled mightily, and suffered greatly; but he endured it all, pain through lash and crop and blade and heat, and pleasure both denied and given. And when dawn's rays came through the window, the Lady of Ys lay sated on her bed, in deep sleep like a swoon, and Kushiel was triumphant.

Throughout the day, many saw Kushiel wandering by the sea gates that protected the Isle from being devoured by the waves, but thought naught of it, for his wanderings were known. And that eve, he appeared again at the feast, as immaculate as ever; and it was the greatest feast that had yet been held, though there were fewer people. And when the feast was done, Kushiel led the Lady to her bedchamber, and there vied with her. And it was said that her screams of pain and pleasure were heard even across the sea on Alba, and the people were afraid. But soon after midnight, she broke before the three-fold path of the Lord of Judgment, and begged for mercy, and he granted it to her.

And as she lay there in dishabille, her hair is disarray and her body welted and bleeding, still wracked with spasms of pleasure, her revealed himself unto her. And she beheld the naked glory of the Lord of Punishment; and he told his true purpose to her. So she learned of his quest, and his belief that in her he had found the answer. But he was still the Lord of Punishment, and so made known to her the full measure of his wrath. For her sins and those of her people, he had opened the sea gates; and even now, Rehab was calling down his wrath on the island, drowning all on it.

When she heard that, she knelt before him in supplication, and wept; for she had loved her people, though she had not shown it well. And she asked forgiveness for her sins, and presented herself unto him, to do with her as he would; punish or drown or torment as he willed, for she had realized her sins, and wished to be purged of them before her death.

And as he gazed down on her sorrowful face, he uncovered himself once more, in the last of his three incarnations; and before her was the Lord of Repentance, who accepted the sinners who wished for forgiveness, and purged them of their sins. And so he took her with him as he left the Isle, leaving all other evil men and women on it to die.

So it was that when they returned to the mainland, the people had gathered to praise him. For the Lady of Ys had long been feared. And in Kushiel's honor, they renamed their land Kusheth, and named him their lord. For they were sturdy and strong, but they too knew how to forgive; and they accepted the Lady of Ys, though they had feared and hated her. And in the following years, they spread Kushiel's worship. And all transgressors and lovers of pain found their way to him, and built temples, and accepted the love in his rebuke.

In this time, the Lady of Ys greatly helped Kushiel, and remained by his side; and she constantly atoned for her manifold sins, even as she helped others atone for theirs. And so she became Kushiel's chief consort, and gave birth to his first children; they were a boy and girl, with perfect white skin, hair of night and sable, and eyes of the dark sea or sky. When they grew, they too propagated the worship of their father, and were his priests. And they named themselves Shahrizai, which had many meanings, in the language of Ys, and in Hebrew, and in the language of Bretagne; but they did not inform people of its significance.

But when the time had come for Kushiel to depart for Terre d'Ange That Lies Beyond, he was heart-sore. For the Shahrizai, his eldest descendants, were also the greatest; but in them he saw much of their mother, and he feared what they would do without his guidance. Yet he could not deny their inheritance; nor indeed could he do so under law for they were eldest. But Kushiel was ever cunning, and at last found a solution which seemed suitable to him. To the Shahrizai he gave the richest lands in Kusheth, wide and fertile. But that was the lesser part of his bequest. For he also gave unto them the power of his three-fold path, and the gaze that could judge all men, and know their faults and strengths; and he hoped that with it, they would learn not just of how to punish men for their sins and transgressions, but also to forgive them, and how to atone for them. So the lordship of Kusheth passed to his second descendant, who took the name of de Morhban, that is 'Sea-Raven'. And though the Shahrizai greatly valued their gifts, they always felt slighted for being denied all that they deserved.

So it came to pass; and it was said in later times that this was the first bloom of ambition in the Shahrizai, who wished to regain the power and majesty of their ancestors, and rule both Kusheth and the Isle of Ys, where only the cormorants now dwelt. But it was also said that they had learned what Kushiel had absorbed from Elua; and their ambition came chiefly from love of power, and joy in the controlling of lesser mean and women (who to them were everyone). And from then on, they pursued power with hunger and lust only surpassed by their desire to control and punish others, with a fierce love that burned all the hotter when denied, and was matched and equaled by few others.


End file.
